Many of the Halley Bay penguins have relocated to the Dawson-Lambton colony

The findings are alarming because ice conditions in Halley Bay were stable for at least 60 years and it was widely thought to be shielded from the affects of climate change.

But in 2016, after a period of abnormally stormy weather, the sea-ice broke up in October, well before any emperor chicks would have fledged.

This pattern was repeated in 2017 and again in 2018 and led to the death of almost all the chicks at the site each season.

The colony at Halley Bay colony has now all but disappeared, whilst the nearby Dawson Lambton colony has markedly increased in size, indicating that many of the adult emperors have moved there.

Dr Peter Fretwell, the study's lead author, said: "We have been tracking the population of this, and other colonies in the region, for the last decade using very high resolution satellite imagery.

"These images have clearly shown the catastrophic breeding failure at this site over the last three years.

"Our specialised satellite image analysis can detect individuals and penguin huddles, so we can estimate the population based on the known density of the groups to give reliable estimate of colony size."

BAS Penguin expert and co-author Dr Phil Trathan, said: "It is impossible to say whether the changes in sea-ice conditions at Halley Bay are specifically related to climate change, but such a complete failure to breed successfully is unprecedented at this site.

"Even taking into account levels of ecological uncertainty, published models suggest that Emperor penguins numbers are set to fall dramatically, losing 50 to 70 per cent of their numbers before the end of this century as sea-ice conditions change as a result of climate change."

By using satellite imagery to study the behaviour of this colony and its response to catastrophic sea-ice loss scientists will gain vital information about how this iconic species might cope with future environmental change.

The news was released on World Penguin Day which recognises all 17 species of penguins.